Archives

by Ramsay Ziegelaar in Melbourne

The key topic among Sri Lankan-born Australians in Melbourne is not Australia's shocking defeats in the one-day cricket matches nor top seed Leyton Hewitt's loss in the Australian Open Tennis Championship but Muttiah Muralitharan spectacular performance in the world of Test cricket.

To me Murali's achievement of being the youngest bowler to bag 400 Test wickets and also in the fastest number of Tests (72) ranks higher than Duncan White's Olympic Games silver medal in 1948. The 29-year-old's feat has been all the more commendable because it was accomplished against hostile tours in Australia. So it's no surprise the Sri Lankans Down Under have reason to rejoice in this outstanding spinner's success.

They remember he was close to tears on the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne in 1995 when he was no-balled for his action and the call was repeated again Down Under when the Lankans toured Australia in 1998-99.

With a section of the media labelling him a chucker it was no surprise that the majority of the crowd jeered as he bowled. I was disappointed to see children as young as seven and eight scream no ball when Murali bowled. I do not think Murali had faced such a hostile reception in any of the matches he played overseas. But Murali the great sportsman that he is, never showed the pain.

Fortunately the young spinner had a strong leader in Arjuna Ranatunge to guide him. Arjuna stood by Murali on and off the field and was ready to sacrifice his career (it cost him a suspended sentence) for his teammate.

After Murali was called on Boxing Day, the Sri Lankan Board decided that he would not bowl in the rest of the Tests but Arjuna wanted him to stay with the team. This decision helped strengthen their desire and motivation to win the World Cup.

The Sri Lankans in Australia are waiting anxiously for the one-day series in December this year to see the spin wizard Murali in action. The other two teams are Australia and England.

However Sri Lanka has a busy program ahead of the one-day series in Australia. They tour England in May-July for three Tests, then are at home to Bangladesh, and in October tour South Africa. There is also the possibility of the mini World Cup. Following the one-day series in Australia is the World Cup in February-March in South Africa. Murali must be rested, it is a heavy schedule. The only tour that he could miss out is the Australian section.

Murali should focus on Curtney Walsh's record of 519 Test wickets. Averaging about 70 Test wickets a year he could reach it in early 2004 or earlier provided he is not injured or jaded through too much cricket. The Sri Lankan Cricket Board must decide whether the one-day series in Australia is an important as winning Test matches which boosts Sri Lanka's world rankings and the World Cup.

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager